¹But I want you to know that there will be terrible times in the last days.

²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, braggers, proud, abusive, and disobedient to their parents. They won’t be thankful or holy,

³and they won’t love or forgive others. They’ll tell lies about other people. They won’t have any self-control, so they’ll be wild, hate what is good,

⁴turn against their friends, and act without thinking. They’ll believe they’re better than others, and they’ll love pleasure instead of loving God.

⁵They’ll pretend that they’re serving God, but they won’t believe that God has any power. Don’t have anything to do with people like that.

⁶They’re the kind of people who take advantage of vulnerable women. They get into their homes and get control over them. These women are already struggling with wrong behaviors they can’t stop giving in to.

⁷They’re always studying, but they’re never able to understand the truth.

⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these teachers oppose the truth. Their minds are twisted, so what they say about the faith can’t be trusted.

⁹But they won’t get very far, because just like Jannes and Jambres, their foolishness will become clear to everyone.

Paul Gives a Final Command to Timothy

¹⁰But you know all about my teaching, my way of life, and my purpose, faith, love, and endurance.

¹¹You know that I’ve been treated badly and suffered greatly. You know what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—how badly I was treated there. But the Lord saved me from all my troubles.

¹²In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be treated badly,

¹³while evil people and impostors will go from bad to worse. They’ll deceive others and others will deceive them.

¹⁴But I want you to continue to follow what you’ve learned and have become convinced of, because you know the people you learned it from.

¹⁵You’ve known the Holy Scriptures ever since you were a little child. They’re able to teach you how to be saved through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶God has breathed life into all Scripture. It’s useful for teaching, challenging, correcting, and training people to do what’s right,

¹⁷so that the servant of God will be completely prepared to do everything good.